Amazon offers discount if you use Price Check app

If brick-and-mortar stores didn’t hate Amazon enough, they’ll really be steamed this Dec. 10 because the online retailing giant is holding a promotion which will give users an additional 5 percent off its prices when they use the Price Check app.

Basically, you’ll be able to walk into a store, use the Price Check app (iPhone or Android) to scan the barcode, take a picture or type in the product manually and you’ll be able to get an extra 5 percent (up to $5) off of that product from Amazon. Amazon generally has lower prices anyways, so this is just the cherry on top.

“The ability to check prices on your mobile phone when you’re in a physical retail store is changing the way people shop,” said Sam Hall, director of Amazon Mobile, in a prepared statement. “Price transparency means that you can save money on the products you want and that’s a great thing for customers. Price Check in-store deals are another incentive to shop smart this holiday season.”

This has been the first holiday shopping season where mobile shopping has actually gone mainstream, as reports suggest record numbers of mobile purchases and I see more and more people comparing prices in stores on their phones. Heck, Amazon and eBay even opened pop-up stores in major cities this shopping season and it encouraged shoppers to use their mobile phones to buy products and have them delivered to their homes.

While it’s tough for physical stores to compete based on margins and costs, these companies still do have some advantages. First of all, people have proven that they will pay a slight premium if the shopping experience is better than a purely online one and there’s always the advantage of being able to take your product home immediately. Additionally, not all mobile shopping technology has to hurt stores, as companies like Shopkick are trying to use smartphones to augment the in-store experience.